Supervisors to sign off, sort of, on new Linn budget

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County supervisors will “finalize” a budget plan for the next fiscal year today, complete with a $2.2 million hole they hope will be patched before the budget takes effect.

The public hearing for the new budget will be March 14, the day before the state's deadline for counties to adopt spending plans for the year starting July 1.

As published before the hearing, the budget will include a $2.2 million deficit in the $35.2 million budget for mental health and developmentally disabled services. Supervisors hope the state's effort to redesign mental health services will address the deficit by taking over more costs and shifting more aid to counties for those services.

The budget calls for $119.2 million in spending, down from $129.7 million in the current fiscal year. The reduction is due to the completion of flood-recovery projects, Budget Director Dawn Jindrich said.

Thanks in part to the state's decision to allow counties to increase their levy for MHDD services to counter a shortfall in state aid, the proposed property tax levy will increase about a nickel under the new budget, to $6.16 per $1,000 of assessed value. The separate rural levy will be $3.71.

Under the county's “budget for outcomes” approach adopted last year, department heads set their basic budgets, then pitch new ideas, or offers, for efficiencies or improvements. Last year's $129.7 million budget included about $1.9 million in discretionary offers.

Supervisors this year approved $1,686,627 in offers from department heads, including $348,012 for the sheriff's rescue unit.

The rescue unit, also funded through the offer process last year, was funded this year with the provision it be included in the sheriff's regular budget in the future.

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